Two lonely hearts
by StarsInTheRiver
Summary: AU fic. The Doctor, in his tenth incarnation and never having met Rose, runs into a much younger version of her. But there may be something wrong with his new friend. Why won't she accept his help, and how can he convince her to trust him before it's too late? Rated T for violence, child abuse, and self harm. The rating may go up later. Most likely.
1. Chapter 1

Hi! Random, middle of the night inspiration here. This story is kind of AU. well, a lot AU. The doctor, already in his tenth incarnation, comes into contact with a different, younger version of Rose. There is quite a bit of violence, so if your not in to that don't read. Please read and review, comments, suggestions, and constructive criticism are all welcomed and appreciated. And by welcomed and appreciated I mean celebrated and worshipped.

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Ch.1

The box landed with a bang in the middle of the park. Thankfully, it was the middle of the night in London, so nobody but late night shoppers were startled by the noise. And even those few, tired as they were, dismissed it and trudged along. The doors to the blue craft popped open, and out leapt a lanky man in a long brown coat.

"No, no, no." he murmured to his box. "Don't do this to me. Not today." He ran pointless circles around his machine as smoke began to pour from the still open doors. "NO!" he kicked the side. "Ow… you know what? Fine!" and he stormed away, the doors slamming shut behind him.

He mumbled incomprehensively as he stalked down the street past a row of flats, his hands stuffed in his pockets. Not paying attention to where he was going, he collided head on with a girl whose vision was impeded by large grocery bags clutched in her arms. Both of them bounced backwards and she fell to the pavement. The contents of the bags were spilled over the path, and the young blonde frantically scrambled to gather them. As the man knelt on the ground to help her, he glanced at her face. She looked to be about fourteen of fifteen, with pale skin and dark eye makeup.

"I'm sorry." He told her as the last can was replaced in the bag.

"No, no. It was my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going." the girl avoided his gaze as she spoke, nervous of the stranger."

"Well neither was I. And you were carrying an awful lot there. Let me help you?" Without waiting for an answer, he scooped up both bags and stood.

"There's no need…" but he just winked at her.

"It's quite all right. I wasn't going anywhere particular. Please, lead the way."

Hesitantly she began to walk. He fell into step beside her and tried to make conversation. "So what were you doing out at this time of night?"

"Matthew needed food." Her response was brief, her voice tense. He kept trying.

"Matthew?

"My mum's boyfriend."

"Ah. But he had to send you? So late? Its not exactly the safest of places to wander at night." His forehead scrunched up with curiosity.

"Mum's out, and he doesn't like to go. It doesn't help that he doesn't like me much…" the moment the words escaped her mouth, her eyes widened and her jaw clenched. She glanced around as though there was a spy in the bushes, and despite his persistent questioning she said no more. At last they arrived at her door and she fumbled for the key. "You can just set the bags down." He did as she asked, his expression vaguely worried.

"Sure you'll be ok?" she nodded, and he turned to leave. After a few steps he stopped and turned. "I'm the Doctor, by the way. What's your name?"

The girl picked up the bags and almost left without answering. But just before stepping inside she spoke up in a small voice. "Rose. My name is Rose Tyler. Thank you for your help." And with that, the door clicked shut behind her.

The man called the Doctor stood there for several moments, then slowly walked away, back to the park and his broken machine.

* * *

Rose Tyler crept into the flat, praying the floor wouldn't squeak and tell of her presence. But the click of the front door had been enough to alert the man sprawled on her couch, and his voice echoed down the entry way. "ROSE!" she winced at the harsh sound, reluctantly answering.

"Yes… I'm here" the slurring of his words told her that he was more than a little drunk, and she was not looking forward to dealing with him.

"God, girl. What took you so long?"

"I dropped some stuff on the way up."

"Clumsy bitch. Try not to drop my dinner when you bring it to me."

Rose took this as an order to prepare dinner, and grabbed a microwave meal out of one of the bags. She started to put away the rest of the food as it heated. The timer dinged, and she slowly walked into the living room. Matthew had spread beer cans over the floor, and she had to pick her way around them to hand him the tray. This done, she began to maneuver her way out, praying that she would be allowed to return to the kitchen. But no such luck.

"No, Rose. Come here, sit down." The man gestured to the floor in front of him. Struggling to conceal the terror she felt, Rose sat. "Now listen up, girl. I sent you to the store over an hour ago. I have been waiting here, very hungry, the whole time. I thought I told you to hurry. Am I right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Damn right. Now you disobeyed me, so you know what I have to do?" Rose said nothing. This infuriated him. "I asked you a question, bitch! When I ask you a question, I expect to be answered, got it?" He grabbed a handful of hair and forced her head back so that she looked up at him. "Do you know what happens to disobedient children, Rose?"

"N-no, sir." She did in fact know. This had happened to her too many times for her not to know, but she also knew that he preferred this answer.

He grinned. "They get punished. So I guess I have to punish you. Come on, Rose. Follow me. " He stood, knocking a few more cans on the ground. And with his hand still gripping her hair, he dragged her into Jackie Tyler's bedroom. In his drunken state, all thought of 'legal' had left him. A scarf, strewn casually on the floor, bound her wrists to the bed. She was shoved to her knees, and her shirt pushed up exposing her back. Rose was helpless to do anything as she heard the noise of his belt being pulled from his waist. All she could do was clench her teeth in preparation for what she knew was coming. The leather belt hissed through the air, _crack_ing as it struck her bare skin. Four hits later she was shouting for him to stop, not expecting anything to happen. But to her surprise, the next lash didn't come. Before she could celebrate, though, a strong hand gripped her hair once more and dragged her to her feet. Her head was painfully turned to face her tormenter, and she saw to her horror the rage on his face.

"You think you can order me around, brat? He hissed. Her wrists were yanked from the bed, although they were still bound together. The large man tossed her scrawny body onto the bed like a beanbag and once again raised his belt. This time, the blows were not limited to her back with a belt. The leather and his fist alike pummeled every inch of her they could. Halfway through a gag of some sort was forced into her mouth to stop her frantic screams, and the torment continued until she lost consciousness.

Rose had a vague feeling of being dragged to her room and thrown to the floor. She lay there, drifting in and out of sleep, until she heard to door slam and her mother's voice ring through the house. Matthew would have cleaned up by now, he always did. The blood would be gone from the floor, the beer cans in someone else's trash, and Rose in her room, to afraid to call for help. She had become quite good at dressing so that the bruises and cuts stayed hidden from Jackie. The 'punishment' she would receive if her mum ever found out about the beatings would be beyond imagination.

At last, Rose managed to drag herself off the floor and into her bed. Her stomach growled as she lowered herself onto the mattress and she tried to remember the last time she had eaten. Two, three days?

As she finally drifted into a restless slumber, she thought about the strange man she had run into on the way home. The man had been kind to her… why would he do that? Her final thoughts before the blackness were that he must have not been a very intelligent man, if he thought she was worth enough to help.

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Thanks! so, I'll try to update at least once every two weeks, hopefully more. Review, review, review!

-StarsInTheRiver


	2. Chapter 2

I return! I know. What has it been, three, four weeks? I have several perfectly legitimate excuses, most of which I will not bore you with. Long story short, I had several everest-sized piles of homework and a funeral to go to. Then I spent my spring break lying in bed, shaking and coughing, so no writing done there. I managed to finish, though, as soon as I was able to, so I hope you can accept my apology and enjoy this chapter. I promise I will try to be much quicker with the next one.

Ch 2.

The baying of hounds followed the Doctor as he raced towards the open doors of his box, coat flying out behind him. The strange violet landscape echoed with the ferocious snarls and howls. The first of the dogs broke through the fog bank he had come from just as the doors slammed shut behind him. But he had caught a glimpse of his pursuers. Huge, midnight blue wolf dogs, with two-inch long fangs and night black eyes. He recognized them from somewhere…

He racked his brain, trying to recall essential information about his hunters as the TARDIS hummed to life. The words on the screen triggered the memory, the name of their current location. The planet was officially known as JW66, but more important was the constellation, Canes Venatici. The constellation of the hunting hounds. Venatician hounds were one of the most capable hunters in the universe, using a kind of psychic tracking. They picked up the aura, sort of like a scent for earth hounds, of their prey and traced them anywhere in the universe. They traveled through space faster than any spaceship, and were just as capable on land or water. They traveled in packs, and would almost never give up a hunt. They had one weakness and one only. An aura was easier to trace than a normal scent, because it did not need to have something physical to cling to and could not be concealed, so they could track you through the cosmos with ease. But it also wore off faster. While a scent could hang around for quite some time under the right conditions, the trail of an aura would vanish within twenty four hours. If by some miracle the hounds lost the scent for that period of time, you were safe.

The Doctor usually had nothing to fear from the creatures. He had a time machine, and usually he spent at least a day on a planet before he got into serious trouble. But today he had screwed up earlier than usual and now he had to worry about where he had been in the last twenty four hours and if he had had contact with anyone. The hounds were completely without mercy, and would often kill anyone with the aura on them even if they were not the victim.

Uh oh… "_Rose_." He hissed under his breath. The young girl he had run into last night was the only contact he had had in a while, and now he had to go find her. He leapt to the console. _See, this is what happens when you're lazy. You travel along a single time line, and that can never end well._

The TARDIS materialized in its normal place in the park, and the Doctor raced out, eyes glancing at the moon to check the time. He had gotten into his tangle with the hounds about six hours after he left London, and they would probably pick up the trace and arrive within three. Praying he had landed fairly accurately, he was relieved to see that he had at least an hour to go. As it was still dark, he decided that knocking on the front door was probably not the best idea. How in the world he was going to convince a teenage girl to come with him because aliens were hunting her he had no idea, but he was rather good at improvising.

* * *

Rose lay in bed, completely silent, tears streaming down her face. She had gotten next to no sleep so far, having been woken up around eleven by pain. It was worse around her midsection, where lighting shot from her ribs every time she breathed and hunger cramps ravaged her stomach. Her face, as usual, had been mostly spared, and the salty tears only stung a little. Some movement had reopened the lashes on her back, old and new, and blood trickled down her side. She found herself wishing, as she often did, that someone would come tonight and take her away from this place.

So when the faint rapping came from her window, she thought it was just her wistful mind imagining things. But unlike normal, the noise didn't stop, and a voice soon joined it. "_Rose… Rose, are you there?"_

_Oh god. _Rose thought. _I've finally gone and lost my mind. _But of course, she was desperate, and would never ignore the slightest possibility of escape. She slowly rose from her bed with a hiss, limping over to her nightstand where she kept an extra shirt. Pulling it on and discarding the bloody one, she walked to the window where the tapping was steadily getting louder.

She pulled the curtains to the side, and nearly shrieked in surprise. Out on her roof, a brown suited man was perched precariously, clinging to the pipe above her window. Rose had absolutely no idea how to react to this. The man had no such issues, however.

"Shh, rose. Don't scream. It's me, from last night. The Doctor?" unsure of what else to do, she nodded. "Ok. This is going to sound a bit crazy, but you're going to have to trust me." And for some reason, she did. He had been the first human to show her kindness in a long, long, while, and she was drawn to him.

"Don't ask how I know, but there are some bad people coming for you. I can explain this all later, but it was because they saw you with me. I need to get you out of here now, will you come?" he said it all very quickly, trying to get the words out. When he had finished, he held his breath and waited for her to go running for help, but to his surprise she stayed. Her head tilted to the side, she surveyed him closely. Then she did completely unexpected.

"Ok."

"What?"

"I said ok. I believe you. God help me, but I believe you."

Just then, there was a creaking from two rooms down. The Doctor cursed to himself. Now he would never manage to help the girl, her parents would not take kindly to a stranger perched outside her window in the dead of night.

"Let's go quickly, then." Seeing his confused expression, she continued, "They might get angry, but they won't worry. I've got a bit of a track record of disappearing in the middle of the night. But if we don't leave now, they will stop me, and according to you that would put me in danger." This was not exactly true, Rose had always been to scared to try and run, but a little lie would hurt no one.

The Doctor gave her another strange look, but at the sound of footsteps gestured her to follow him. He would ask her about this later, right now his priority was getting her to safety.

The night was chilly, so Rose grabbed her jacket and pulled it on as she clambered out the window behind him. Her ribs protested the movement, but she ignored them, even though she knew that would only make it worse later. They climbed over the roof and onto the stairway. She wiped the last tears from her face as she heard Mathew's muffled curses drifting out her open window, and didn't look back as she crossed the street.

The Doctor walked quickly back to the park, glancing back every once and a while to make sure Rose was still following. It had taken him a while to find the correct window, and they were cutting it very short. The TARDIS doors sprung open as he arrived, and he strode inside. He heard the blonde girl's gasp of shock as she stood in the doorway, completely in awe of what she saw. He turned to watch her. He always liked this part.

She slowly stepped forward, gazing up at the console with wide eyes.

"Welcome to the TARDIS, Rose."

"This is amazing…" she whispered. "It's so much bigger on the inside."

Glancing at the screen, the Doctor saw that the hounds were rapidly approaching earth and ran to close the doors. _Safe. _"We'll be OK in here, nothing can get through those doors." He turned to see Rose, staring him confused. He tried to explain to her without sounding completely mad. "Would you believe me if I told you that this was a spaceship?" she looked around the interior once again before replying.

"Well, That would seem to be the best explanation. It doesn't look like anything from earth I've ever seen. Hang on, does that mean you're…"

"An alien? Yes. Does that scare you?"

"A bit."

"At least you're honest. But don't worry, I'm one of the good ones."

Comprehension dawned on her pale face as she put two and two together. "So the people after me are aliens? Bad aliens?"

"Weeeell…. Not people so much as creatures. They're really after me, but the way they work, anyone I have had recent contact with would be in danger. I can bring you back home in about twenty hours. Or we could jump straight there, if you want to leave now. Or didn't I mention? The machine also travels in time."

At this point, Rose felt the need to sit down. She stared at the array of buttons and levers before her for a few moments before speaking up. "Time machine. That's…wow." The Doctor started towards a switch, and she hastily added, "But if it's alright with you, could I maybe hang around for a little while? I mean, if you can travel in time getting me back should be no problem." She looked at him with hopeful eyes. He broke out in a huge grin. He had been on his own for a long time, and was dying for some company.

"Of course." He spun to face her. "Anywhere in space or time. Where should we go first?"

And there you have it. So please review, It really does make my day, and I love to get any suggestions or constructive criticism.

One last thing. I am dedicating this chapter to my Uncle J.W, who recently passed away at the age of 66, and whose funeral was one of the reasons I had to put off writing this. I felt the need to do something for him, so he gets an imaginary planet named in his honor.

Thanks.


	3. Chapter 3

Behold, Chapter three! I did it, finally. I know, not as long as would be nice, but I've been having problems with it. ANYWAYS. Here you go, I hope you enjoy it. Read & Review!

Ch. 3

The TARDIS rasped to a halt, and the blue doors swung open. A rush of noise immediately assaulted the pair, and Rose's eyes shot open in wonder at the pale pink sky she saw outside. The pain was almost forgotten as she reached for the Doctor's long-fingered hand, but made a very abrupt return when he pulled her to her feet. The stabbing, acute sensation flared in her ribcage, and she cried out.

Immediately, she realized what she had done and instinctively shied away from the man before her, expecting to be struck for the sound.

"Rose!" The Doctor was by her side in seconds. "What's wrong? Are you hurt? Did I do something?" Memories flashed through his mind unbidden, set off by her pain. Other friends, injured in his care.

After her initial wave of panic, Rose realized that she was in no danger from this man, and was silently furious with herself for showing weakness. "No, I'm sorry, I'm fine." Working to keep the grimace from her face, she straightened up. "I stepped on my ankle wrong."

The brown suited man ran his fingers through his hair as he surveyed her.

"Liar."

Before she could protest, he continued. " I know when someone's hurt, Rose. I've been around a while. I can help you if you tell me what happened."

She hesitated. It had been drilled into her time and time again, never to let anyone see the damage. But then, she realized, Matthew wasn't exactly going to know about this. Obviously she wouldn't tell him how she got the injuries, but she couldn't really afford to pass up free medical attention, could she?

"I...I fell down some stairs at school" she winced inwardly at the terrible lie, but he seemed to accept it.

"Where is it worst?"

Gingerly, she touched her ribs.

He reached toward her, but then drew his hand back. "Can I see?" His tone surprised the girl. No one ever spoke to her in such a gentle voice, especially not men. Since Matthew had moved in with them, she had been extremely cautious around men. They seemed to pick up on it, and were usually quite cold and distant with her. It wasn't doing much for her relationships with her teachers and doctor, but the constant beatings had her too well conditioned to behave any other way. This strange man, though... His attitude was strange, and she was hesitantly pleased.

"Yeah." She pulled up her grey shirt to reveal her battered torso, and almost winced herself at the sight. The bruises had fully formed, and her ribs were mottled shades of black and blue. A few lone lashes from the belt, although mostly contained to her back, slashed across her front and the red of dried blood stood out against the pale, abused, skin.

"Rose…" he whispered in horror at the sight. She hung her head, once again ashamed of her own weakness. Noticing, he tried to fix his mistake. "Hey, it's alright. Let's just go up to the medical bay, and I'll patch you up, yeah?"

As they walked, the Doctor's mind wandered, trying to think of a way she could have gotten this badly injured. Helping her up a flight of stairs, he wondered if she might have been beaten up at school. He knew firsthand just how cruel children could be to those smaller and weaker than them, and Rose was downright tiny. He pulled the heavy doors open and guided the young blonde onto the nearest bed. "Lie down, and pull up your shirt again. I promise I'll be gentle."

She obliged almost immediately, pale eyes staring trustingly up at him.

He surveyed the mess in front of him, trying not to think about where a teenage girl would get injuries like that. Not that he didn't intend on finding out as soon as possible, but right now he needed to fix the problem at hand. How long Rose had been walking around like this he didn't know, but any longer and she could have seriously damaged herself. "Alright, let's see. Could you tell me where it's worst? "

Rose pointed out several places. All of them, he noticed, were directly on top of a rib. "Ok, does it hurt when you breathe in?" She nodded. Twisting in his chair, the Doctor reached his hand into the drawer behind him. " I think you may have a broken rib. I don't want to hurt you, so it would be best if you were sedated while I fixed it. Is that ok, or should I just numb it?"

The idea of rest, artificial or not, was too tantalizing to resist. She hadn't gotten a good nights sleep in months, and couldn't remember what is was like to not be exhausted. "That's fine."

Her response was a relief, as the Doctor had worked on enough broken ribs to know that this would be painful even with painkillers. He pulled the needle from the drawer. " close your eyes, and when I'm done you pick where we go." After only a few seconds hesitation, her eyes slid shut, although her body was tense with anticipation of the needle. One practiced movement, and it was done. Within seconds, she relaxed as the drug took over her system. After checking to make sure that she was truly asleep, he turned his attention to the job at hand. He hadn't been exactly truthful when he said she might have had a broken rib. She had a least three, without a doubt, and a few more likely candidates. The cuts needed to be cleaned to avoid any further infection, and he had some cream to get rid of the worst bruises. Once again pushing aside worries, he began.

* * *

Laughter drifted across the garden, to where Rose and her mother sat swinging. Birds were chirping playfully, and the sunlight was warm on their backs. They were talking about unimportant little things, gossiping and giggling. Rose felt perfectly happy, and could not remember a time when she hadn't been.

"Ro-ose!" From somewhere beyond the apple trees to her back, a voice called her name. She turned to look, a lazy grin on her face.

"We're over here." But even as she spoke, the atmosphere was shifting. A shadow fell across the fading colors of the garden and sent a chill over her skin. The birds had fallen silent, the only noise remaining being the crunching of footsteps as a figure emerged from the low branches.

"Hello, Rose. You're certainly out early." At the sound of that voice, the young girl's heart nearly stopped. She reached her hand out for her mother, but her hand grasped empty air. " Mummy's not here, girl. No one but you and me. " And with these words he advanced towards the terrified child. A hand went up, but before the blow could land a voice broke through the haze of the dream.

"Rose! Rose, wake up, you're dreaming." In front of her, Mathew flickered and the dreamscape began to fade. Her panic subsided as she realized where she was and that her tormenter was gone. Above her, a fuzzy brown head was surrounded by a halo of light. For a moment, she thought he was an angel. But as she fully awoke and his worried brown eyes appeared, she realized that she hadn't been _exactly_ right.

Although he might not be an angel in the literal sense, maybe he could still be the guardian she had been praying for.

So. You guys may hate me for this, but I've actually had this all written for quite a while. Like, two weeks. But there was ONE PARAGRAPH. Barely two sentences, but it was absolutely necessary to the chapter, and it just would not work. I rewrote it at least ten times, and ended up so incredibly frustrated that I just left it be for a long time. But I did eventually get my issues straightened out and fixed it, so I hope you liked it ok. Review, please! I will love you forever and ever. It really does help me speed up with my writing. On the other fic I'm working on, I got eleven reviews the first day, and I'm already halfway done with the chapter. Seriously, they won't have to wait more than a week before the next update. The same thing could happen here, if that's any motive. Thanks!

-StarsInTheRiver


	4. Chapter 4

Hey. I finished, finally. Not as good as I'd like it to be, so if anyone has any constructive criticism or suggestions I'd love to hear. Apologies and other things at the bottom. Please enjoy!

Ch. 4

Rose hadn't asked for anything more specific than 'future-y' in their destination, so a doctor had chosen a festival in 3070, Russia. But the TARDIS, as always, was a bit off and they had ended up several hundred miles off target and in the middle of a restored forest. He had been going to give it another shot, but as soon as Rose stepped outside she had insisted that they stay. So even though this was a far cry from his usual excursions, the Doctor found himself walking through the quiet woods with his young companion.

They mostly made small talk, with the Doctor spouting random facts about the plants and animals they passed, occasionally slipping in bits of local history. Rose was fascinated by all of his stories, and seemed calmer than she had been since their first meeting. He hadn't yet touched the subject of her injuries, but he knew it was a conversation that would eventually need to be faced, if not on this trip than some other. He wanted to help her in any way that he possibly could, but right now it seemed like talking would only worsen her mental state. But he swore, the second he knew what was going on, he would put an end to it.

* * *

Rose waved to the TARDIS as it vanished from her sight, her mind still reeling with all the incredible things she had seen in the last day. The Doctor had dropped her off a little over one and a half days since he had picked her up, and the sun was low in the sky. She was in a lighter mood than she had been in months, as well as being healthier, and barely remembered what waited for her at home until she was almost there. But as she approached the dark brown door, the usual terror slowly trickled back into her mind. Every inch of her wanted to turn and run, but she knew that the longer she was gone the worse her punishment would be.

_I'm sure I put my mother through hell, _she told herself. _I probably deserve what's coming._

So with these thought to steel her, she pushed the creaking door and stepped into her house.

The first thing she was aware of was the sound of the television playing a sports game from the living room. This meant Matthew was home alone, he was never as lazy when her mother was around. The moment the door clicked shut behind her, though, the game fell silent.

"Jackie? You home already?"

Rose took a deep breath, her brain screaming at her to get the hell out of there, and replied

"It's not Jackie."

The couch creaked as the man sprawled there stood slowly.

"Rose."

_You had this coming, take it like an adult. _She walked into the living room, her head bowed. She had almost forgotten how tall he was…

Two steps, and his hand was grasping the front of her shirt, yanking her upright and on to her toes.

"Rose Tyler. I don't think you realize how much trouble you in."

"I rea-"

Before she could finish her sentence, a fist crashed into the side of her head, effectively cutting her off.

"Listen here, you little bitch. Your mother and I have been searching everywhere for you, she has been worried sick and was giving me hell about it. You need to be taught a little lesson about respect that you won't forget in a hurry, and you can be damn sure that I'll be happy to give it to you. "

He left no doubt as to exactly how this lesson would be taught, and her mind went numb as the blows began to fall. the same thoughts echoed through her mind with each hit.

_Worthless._

His fist crashed into her newly healed ribs, driving the air from her.

_You deserve this._

Blood ran from her forehead, where his knuckles broke the skin_._

_Little bitch._

Her skull crashed into the back of the couch as she was shoved down.

She barely even noticed as, a lifetime later, she was dragged from where she lay curled on the couch to her own room and tossed on to her bed. Barely heard the _swish_ of a belt, although she felt each lash clearly. The tears ran down her face silently, and she hated herself more with each one that fell.

_You don't even deserve to cry._

_You needed to be punished, this is your fault._

_Your fault._

_Your fault._

Matthew's breath was tainted with the scent of alcohol when he leaned over and whispered in her ear,

"Consider yourself lucky. If you ever pull anything like that again, I will make you wish you had never been born. This will seem like a trip to the mall in comparison, I promise."

Rose heard the door click shut behind him, but couldn't bring herself to move. She just lay there and bled.

Her mother came home around nine, and she overheard a fairly loud conversation about where she had been the past few days. According to Matthew, Rose had tried to go to a party that he had forbidden her from attending, and had ended up drunk and sleeping at a friend's house. On the way home, she had gotten beat up and mugged in the streets by someone who thought she would be an easy target, and wouldn't come out of her room even though he had tried to help her.

There was silence for several moments before Rose heard a soft knocking at her door.

Her mother's voice was gentle as she entered.

"Rose? Sweetie, it's mum…" There was a muffled gasp when she saw her daughter, but Jackie didn't freak out. Instead she sat herself down beside the girl curled on the bed and pulled her head into her lap, softly stroking her hair. The reaction was so unexpected, Rose couldn't stop the tears that came.

"It's ok, Rose. Shhh… It's ok."

"Mum…" That was all she managed to get out before she completely broke down, and started sobbing into her mother's arms.

She fell asleep that way, and when the sun finally rose it found them still curled together on the small bed. Rose would be allowed to skip school, and Jackie took her to the doctor's to get her injuries checked out. He did nowhere near as good a job as _her_ Doctor had, but she obviously couldn't say anything. She told Matthew's story, with a few minor adjustments.

Her mother's punishment was that she couldn't go out with friends for two months (not that she had many friends in the first place), and double chores. Jackie stayed home for a few days after that, which kept Matthew off her back and gave her a chance to heal a little. That week was probably the happiest her home life had been in almost four months.

* * *

Yeah. So I know that this chapter was absolutely and inexcusably late, but I feel like I owe you guys a bit of an explanation anyways. You don't have to keep reading if you don't want.

In the past few months I learned two things- Happiness is terrible for my writing ability, and depression gives my procrastinating skills a huge boost. See the problem? Anyways, I had about a month long period of time where I thought I was improving, so I got two chapters of (not very good) writing done. About a week ago I relapsed, hence this chapter happening.

And I'm sorry if this chapter wasn't particularly great. Trust me, it was worse before.

(sorry, going personal for a second)

So I'm spending the summer with cousins, as my mother kicked me out for a while, and the whole experience kind of triggered a breakdown. My family is not particularly accepting, so I have to wear a scarf on my arm or long sleeves 24/7. I'm terrified of someone finding out (apparently self harm is a sin in the bible), I haven't eaten a full meal in three days, and I'm writing this at five AM if that's any example of my sleep patterns. All of my friends are back home, none of them answer my texts and I couldn't really say anything even if they did. This constant stream of negative emotion is somehow both helpful and disastrous for my writing...

Anyways. Thanks for sticking with me even though I suck at writing. Review for hugs. Every review means the world to me, so please please please try to take a few moments and give suggestions, feedback, or tips.

-StarsInTheRiver


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